Posted on 03/10/2004 4:05:37 PM PST by SandRat
| Capt. Tom Pike, who is from Sierra Vista, stands with members of the Iraqi civil defense force near Ar-Ramadi, Iraq. Tom is asking for everyday items to give to the Iraqis to help support them and gain their trust. (Courtesy of Judy and Harl Pike) |
That is how his proud parents Judy and Harl Pike see their son.
Now, the Army captain who is serving in Iraq is seeking help from the community he calls home - Sierra Vista.
Through e-mail messages to his parents, Tom said the needs of Ar-Ramadi, a city of nearly 400,000, are overwhelming. That started electronic correspondence between him and his parents, and his wife, Amy, who is an Army captain on Fort Huachuca in charge of the veterinarian clinic.
Judy expanded that communications link to include many people in Sierra Vista as she and others try to establish a community project with the potential of eventually seeing Sierra Vista and Ar-Ramadi becoming sister cities, a connection the Arizona city has with Cananea, Mexico, and Radebeul, Germany.
The sister city concept is a long way off, but having the community reach out as individuals and through organizations can be done now, Judy said.
"It will help keep our soldiers safe," Judy said of why she wants to help the people of Ar-Ramadi.
An American community reaching out to an Iraqi city also will show that the people of the United States want to help them, which will reduce the possibility of attacks on the U.S. military, she said.
Tom sees special needs for children, especially providing educational equipment, Judy said.
He is not looking for computers. He is looking for pencils, crayons, notebooks, chalk, dry-erase markers, calculators. The soldier also sees the need for soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs, shoes, clothing and blankets.
"It is the simple things that are needed," Judy said, noting she, her husband, Amy and some friends have already shipped off some boxes.
Harl, who is the pastor of the Sierra Lutheran Church, said the church's women's group has contributed money to mailboxes.
And Cochise College had a weeklong donation program last week.
"People are getting involved, but more has to be done," Judy said.
In one of his e-mails, Tom wrote about Ar-Ramadi.
The city is the capital of Al-Anbar province and is located about 60 miles west of Baghdad in what is called the Sunni Triangle, which accounts for why 90 percent of the population is Sunni. The city is the site of one of Iraq's major medical schools and of a large refugee camp, according to Tom.
The people at the Al Taash Refugee Camp "are the most outwardly pro-coalition people we've encountered in Ar-Ramadi," he said in one of his e-mails.
But the schools at the refugee camp and elsewhere in the Iraqi city have suffered from neglect, which is what Tom says needs to be addressed.
Others who suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein were many of the tribes who live around Ar-Ramadi, he added.
Suggesting to his parents that perhaps schools in Sierra Vista would like to adopt a school in and around Ar-Ramadi, Tom said that would prove the people of the United States are interested in the welfare of the Iraqi people.
But there are some restrictions in what can be sent.
"Do not send any religious materials as it encourages the idea that coalition forces are crusaders out to eliminate the Islamic religion," he said.
Food should not be sent, and medical supplies are prohibited by rules governing the coalition forces.
Judy said her son is seeking a way to build trust between U.S. forces and the people of Ar-Ramadi, a city that although in the Sunni Triangle, has not been involved in many attacks against coalition forces.
"And I want to keep it that way," she said.
Judy and Harl were Peace Corps volunteers who served in Tunisia in the late 1960s.
While in that country, they learned about Arab and Muslim customs and found out that once a person is accepted as a friend, they are also part of an Arab's family.
In an e-mail, Tom said there is a lot of misconception in the Iraqi population, which includes the U.S. occupying the country for its oil resources, America is unsympathetic and intolerant to Iraq's Muslim population and the West is too different to develop any effective relationship.
He wants to show the Iraqi people that U.S. forces want a better life for the Iraqis. One way to show that is to have American communities directly involved in helping rebuild Iraq.
The U.S. government and other coalition forces are rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure, but the common people also have to be involved, Tom said.
If the people of Sierra Vista started to help by providing everyday items and maintain relationships to bridge cultural differences, everyone would be served, he stated in an e-mail to his parents.
Tom also has suggested that city government entities, such as the Sierra Vista Police Department, can help their Ar-Ramadi counterparts with supplies.
For Judy, it would be symbolic for Sierra Visa to help, especially since the community has such a large military population.
She said that having a military-oriented U.S. community reach out to where U.S. forces are assigned by providing items that can be used in schools will be a positive sign to that Iraqi community "that our hearts are with them."
Contact information
For information on how to give, contact Judy or Harl Pike by e-mail at harljudy@yahoo.com or harl@sierralutheran.org.
Tom said the needs of Ar-Ramadi, a city of nearly 400,000, are overwhelming. That started electronic correspondence between him and his parents, and his wife....
Judy expanded that communications link to include many people in Sierra Vista as she and others try to establish a community project with the potential of eventually seeing Sierra Vista and Ar-Ramadi becoming sister cities...
"It is the simple things that are needed.."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bless our troops!
Thanks for the post, SandRat.
Capt.Tom Pike, the Pastor's son, might want to contact Chief Wiggles: http://chiefwiggles.blog-city.com/.
Chief added school supplies and basics for the Iraqi children to his toy drive: Operation Give He's headed back to Baghdad today for a month after a few weeks on the homefront, but has written that he wants the efforts to help the children to continue after he leaves (mostly in the Baghdad area - Capt. Tom's neighborhood), and he has contacts, helpers (was also getting free shipping from Fed Ex, I think).
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